Raila attacks IEBC over 'outrageous' Sh14bn referendum cost

IEBC must be overhauled and streamlined after claims that referendum will cost Sh14 billion, ODM leader Raila Odinga has said.

The IEBC on Wednesday said a referendum to change the Constitution and adopt the Building Bridges Initiative proposals will cost taxpayers at least Sh14 billion.

The sum is based on the 19.6 million voters in the IEBC register, a number that might arise given the continuous voter registration across the 47 counties.

"Shortly, we will pick a team to sit with IEBC and itemize what will lead to a cost-effective referendum exercise and election," Raila said.

"IEBC seems to be determined never to develop an operational performance that contains costs."

In a statement on Thursday, Raila suggested that Kenya can use Sh200 per voter against IEBC's Sh700.

"That message needs to get to IEBC. The cost per voter ranges from Sh100 to Sh200. There is no excuse why Kenya should pay more," he said.

Raila said elections have become an avenue of ripping off Kenyans through various schemes.

"These schemes are evident in the IEBC reasoning. That kind of impunity cannot be allowed to soil an exercise like the upcoming BBI referendum whose objectives among others is to stop the culture of theft of public resources and corruption in public offices," he said.

Raila said the referendum was aimed at bringing sanity to Kenya's election process including aligning the costs to the global trends.

He insisted the referendum should be done with not more than Sh2 billion for 20 million voters.

"The money that IEBC is talking about is outrageous but also a manifestation of the institution's insensitivity to the changes Kenyans are crying for in the management of public affairs," he said.

According to the IEBC, the Sh14 billion figure also caters for the election officials which consist of presiding officers and their deputies, clerks and the minimum two police officers for every polling station.

In the 2017 elections, IEBC deployed 350,000 officials across the country.

IEBC figures are Sh12 billion more than the Sh2 billion ODM leader Raila Odinga projected two months ago.